Mongoose in the Garden
by Flipper Boid Skua
Summary: Rikki-Tikki-Tavi fanfic. What if Rikki-Tikki wasn’t the first mongoose in the garden home of Nag and Nagaina? Please R&R!


Disclaimer: I don't own Rikki-Tikki-Tavi or any of it's characters. Just wanted to point that out...

* * *

"_Dong_-- Stranger in the garden!" the Coppersmith bird yelled, circling high above the ground and vegetation. He was the message-carrier of all the garden, spreading news everywhere to anyone who cares. "_Ding—Tock—_There is a stranger here!"

A pair of cobras, one's black and the other's gold, took time off their basking and looked up at the noisy bird.

"What is this?" the golden one, Nagaina, asked the avian. The bird hovered many feet above them, not daring to look at the cobras for fear he might cease moving and fall into their clutches.

However, it was his role to give the news to everyone, including the garden's top predators.

"There is somebody who has just appeared here. She fell from the other side of the east wall. I think she must be dead, for she hasn't moved since." The bird told the cobras. Nagaina looked at her mate.

"What creature be it to enter our garden?" asked the big black cobra, Nag.

"I think she is a mongoose, for she looks so like one, I do not know what else she could be." The Coppersmith answered. The cobras slightly startled at the word _mongoose_. They never had such a situation before.

The bird had already left, repeating his message to all who didn't hear.

"A mongoose in the garden," Nagaina hissed with disdain. Nag lowered his hood at his wife's loathing. He himself never encountered a mongoose, but heard stories from other snakes; stories that filled him with terror when he was but a mere hatchling.

"Let us go and see. Perhaps the bird was mistaken." He suggested. They slithered towards the east wall.

--

Zarha opened her eyes slowly, taking in her surroundings. They were new to her, what appeared to be a very large garden. Her nose twitched as she attempted to stand up. There was blood on the top of her head, probably from her fall. She will groom it off later.

She remembered being in a box after white Man had taken her from her owner (for she was a pet to a dark boy). Then, after an immense amount of time, the box opened and she was grabbed by the scruff and thrown up in the air.

She must have landed here and blacked out. She is still rather dizzy. She licked her lips as she continued to look about herself. She felt dizzy and sank upon the ground again. Pausing, she decided not to rush herself and instead reached her head behind her to put the grayish fur on her darkly striped back in order.

And then she had thought that going to sleep again might just do her some good.

So young Zarha curled up and pushed her pink nose beneath her black tipped tail and closed her bright black eyes.

--

"That must be her." Nag stated as they peered beyond the tall grass that concealed them. Nagaina hissed softly at the sight of the unmoving creature that invaded their home.

"Looks like a mongoose," she whispered with all quietness.

"Need I take a closer look? To ensure that it is indeed dead?" Nag asked her. Nagaina paused, her hood widening.

"Go. But be careful."

With a very slight show of hesitation, Nag approached cautiously. It was not moving, and though it was difficult to decipher whether it was drawing breath, he had confidence that his uneasiness was unnecessary.

He slid pass it, turned, and coiled up before the creature.

It was female, he knew that almost the instant he sampled its scent (his first smell of what he assumed was mongoose). There was a wound upon her head, so maybe this thing really was deceased.

But to be all the more sure of its state, he nudged her side ever so lightly with his nose. There was but no reaction. He looked over at Nagaina, only to find that he could not see her from here.

All at once, the creature began to stir almost unnoticeably and Nag backed up away from her, spreading his hood ever wider with each movement the beast made. He had the urge to strike, but held himself in check.

--

Zarha opened her eyes and startled when she saw the large snake. She was still young and has spent much of her life with Man, so had not seen much, if any, snakes in her lifetime. Almost instantly, she recoiled from it slightly, keeping her body tight as she balanced low on her hind legs, bristling the fur on her tail.

The snake reacted in much the same way. He backed into a coil, raising a third of his five-foot body high in the air and displayed a hood, swaying.

There was a stillness in the air.


End file.
